Selanne ‘optimistic’ about return to Ducks

Black smoke was seen coming from a chimney at Teemu Selanne's home in Coto de Caza on Saturday.

Do you know what that means?

It means that Selanne, the leading scorer in Ducks history, has returned to Southern California from his home in Helsinki, Finland, but he hasn't yet decided whether he will return for his 19th NHL season.

Selanne, 41, said Saturday his left knee, surgically repaired in his homeland in late June, will make the decision for him in the next couple of weeks, before Ducks training camp opens Sept. 16.

But the good news for Ducks fans is that he has been doing everything he can — skating, working out and undergoing physical therapy on his knee — to try to delay his retirement one more year. That included an appearance Saturday at Anaheim Ice for the annual Fedorin Cup, an unsanctioned charity exhibition game featuring between past and present NHL players.

"So far, so good. I've been skating three weeks now, and I'm really optimistic," Selanne said by cell phone on his way to the charity event, in his first interview since returning to Orange County with his family. "I'd like to play one more year, but I want to be sure I can play and enjoy the game the way I always do.

"There's still some work to do. I think the main thing right now is to try to get the muscles around the knee stronger. If I get those really strong, I think I can still play. It's a slow process, because you lose your muscles quickly when you can't use them the first two-three weeks after surgery.

"I'm doing rehab now. Long days: skate, work out and then I go to the physical therapist. I'm skating four-five times a week, because I want to be sure. I'll have to make a decision between now and start of training camp."

This is the fifth consecutive summer since the Ducks won the 2007 Stanley Cup that Selanne has contemplated calling it quits, but he keeps having too much fun and too much success.

And with the Ducks scheduled to open the 2011-12 NHL season in his homeland, Selanne is hoping his knee cooperates so he can suit up and play in front of his admiring Finnish fans. First is an Oct. 4 exhibition game against Jokerit, his former pro team in the Finnish Elite League, and then the NHL opener Oct. 7 against Buffalo, both games in Helsinki.

"I'm looking at those games as big bonuses for my career," Selanne said. "Both are very special to me. It would be awesome to play over there. But that isn't going to make my decision for me."

Selanne is motivated to play one more season — and this time, he says he knows it would be his last season — because he's coming off a remarkably productive season at age 40 in which he scored 31 goals and 80 points in 73 games.

"For my age, I was a little bit surprised (about his production), but you know I don't think of myself as that old," he said, laughing. "The only time is when I see that number (his age) on paper."

Selanne said he began feeling twinges in his left knee near the end of last season, but that the pain didn't affect his game or his routines. It was the same knee on which he underwent reconstructive surgery during the 2004 NHL lockout, so his concern was heightened in June when it swelled up after playing tennis in Orange County with his buddies, including teammate Saku Koivu.

"I thought it would go away, but three weeks later, it didn't get any better," he said. "Running and playing tennis are a big part of my (offseason) training, and I couldn't do either one. I knew we had to do something."

After the family went back to Finland for its annual summer vacation, Selanne consulted the doctor who did the original surgery and had an MRI to determine the problem.

"There was a little tear in the meniscus (cartilage), so they cleaned it up (surgically)," he said. "Bottom line is there's a lot of cartilage missing, so that is bad news. The doctor said at some point I can't play anymore. We know we're going to have problems later on, and someday I think I'm going to need a knee replacement. But I just want to play one more year."

That's why he's skating and working out and undergoing physical therapy. He wants one more shot at glory. He was hoping his longtime friend and former linemate, Paul Kariya, would join him for one final season, too, but Kariya decided to retire from the NHL after sitting out the entire 2010-2011 season recovering from concussion symptoms.

"We talked a couple of times and we had lunch with Bob Murray (Ducks GM) to talk about it," Selanne said. "I was hoping PK could play one more year, but he told me all the stories about the problems he's had (related to concussions). There are more important things than hockey."

Selanne knows that, too, but he wants one more tour around the NHL, which this season will include a stop in Winnipeg, where his NHL career began nearly two decades ago.

"I know I don't really have to play; it's a 'gift' kind of thing," Selanne said. "But I'm really optimistic about the team we have. We have a chance to do something big here."

It sounds as if Selanne already has made up his mind about coming back; now he's waiting for his knee to deliver a second opinion.